Generalised Anxiety (GAD) Therapy in Stourbridge & Online UK-wide

 

What is GAD?

Generalised Anxiety Disorder is characterised by excessive, hard-to-control worry across multiple domains (for e.g., health, work, finances, relationships), accompanied by physiological tension and cognitive symptoms (restlessness, muscle tightness, poor concentration, irritability, sleep disruption).

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What GAD feels like (common presentations)

• Chronic worry over multiple aspects of your life

• High levels of anxiety on  frequent or chronic basis

• A constant “what if…?” thread in the background that steals focus.

• Tension in shoulders/jaw, agitation, mental fatigue, poor sleep.

• Over-planning or avoiding decisions in case you “miss something”.

• Reassurance loops with partners/colleagues; checking emails/messages repeatedly.

• Procrastination on important tasks because they must be “done right”.

• You know the worry isn’t changing outcomes, but dropping it feels risky.

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Why it keeps you stuck (the over-control loop)

Worry creates the illusion of control. Short-term relief from planning, checking or avoiding, trains your mind to worry more, not less, by reducing your ability to tolerate the uncertainty that is part of life. Your mind can become focused on potential threats, paradoxically increasing uncertainty which can become intolerable, while life shrinks in the attempt to avoid anxiety provoking situations.

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How therapy can address GAD (chronic worry)?

Evidence-based treatment involves a cognitive behavioural approach (CBT) to reduce unworkable attempts to try and escape anxiety, and to gain unachievable certainty, alongside new skills to help you re-engage with meaningful and important parts of your life, that GAD tends to interfere with.

 

Our aim: reduce unworkable  attempts to control what cannot be controlled, increase our tolerance for uncertainty, develop new skills for managing our difficult thoughts and feelings, and rebuild a life guided by values rather than fear.

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What changes?

• Less impacted by anxiety, greater ability to focus on what matters to you.

• Noticeably less time spent worrying, checking and seeking reassurance.

• Greater decisiveness with tolerable uncertainty.

• Improved sleep and daytime focus.

• More time in activities that matter; fewer avoided tasks.

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Fees & logistics

• Individual therapy: £125 per 60-minute session

• Location: Stourbridge (West Midlands) & online across the UK

• Availability: Daytime and limited early evenings

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FAQs

• Isn’t worry helpful for planning?
  Useful planning is brief, specific and scheduled. GAD worry is extended, hypothetical and repetitive. It doesn't lead to useful action. We keep useful planning and dismantle the rest.

• Will I be told to “just think positive”?
  No. We train skills to carry uncertainty and act effectively—positive thinking isn’t the treatment.

• How long does therapy take?
  Many people see functional gains in 12 sessions; complex or long-standing presentations may take longer. We tailor pace to goals.

• Can medication help?
  It can and a combination of therapy and medication is helpful for many people, while others prefer to focus on therapy alone. This is always your choice. I don’t prescribe; but speaking with your GP about your options is encouraged.

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Next Steps:

Enquire about availability for face to face appointments in Stourbridge.

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If you would prefer online sessions, you can learn more by clicking the button below